A rare book recently appeared for sale that is not for the faint of wallet. Offered by Blakeney Griffin Booksellers of London, this copy of the anthology Light Blue, Dark Blue (1960) comes from the Estate of Olwyn Hughes. Some of the particulars from the listing: Publisher: Macdonald, London, 1960. Book Condition: Not Set. First edition, first impression. Original blue cloth, titles to spine in navy blue. With the dust jacket. An excellent copy in the dust jacket. Price: £8,500 Light Blue, Dark Blue is "An Anthology of Recent Writing from Oxford and Cambridge Universities" and was edited by Julian Mitchell & John Fuller for Oxford and William Donaldson & Robin McLaren for Cambridge. "From the library of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath with Plath's inscription to the front free endpaper, 'Ted & Sylvia Hughes London 1960'." "A breath-taking copy of this notable anthology famously printing (besides a poem from Hughes's Hawk ...

Very little going on of late... Last week I posted about a live auction on eBay for a first edition The Colossus (Heinemann, 1960) by Sylvia Plath. The auction was on Thursday. The lucky high bidder won the book for a mere $508.40. Though the book shows evidence of soiling, if high bidder was a book store, chances are it'll reappear for sale shortly for double, and maybe triple the winning auction price. If you're shopping for Plath items to give a loved one for Christmas, I still have a few books for sale. See my post from 1 December for more information. Nothing says "I love you, I care about you, you complete me", etc. like a limited edition.

Sylvia Plath various items for sale The London bookseller Peter Ellis is offering for sale a host of various Plath-related items. The current price, via ABEbooks.com, is just over $300 US. This price is likely subject to change based on currently foreign exchange rates. The items for sale are: The Harvard Advocate, vol. CI, no. 1. Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 1967. Wrappers. Several early poems by Plath. New Society, no. 302. London, 11 July 1968. Wrappers. Includes David Holbrook on Plath. The New Yorker, vo. XLVI, no. 40. New York, November 21 1970. Wrappers. ''Gigolo'', a poem by Plath. The New Yorker, XLVII, no. 3. New York, March 6 1971. Wrappers. Six poems by Plath. San Francisco Book Review, no. 22. June, 1972. A4 format, wrappers. 38 pages. Includes an essay on Plath by Emily Leider. The Listener, vol. 95. no. 2454. London, 22 April 1976. Wrappers. Includes an interview with Plath's mother. The New Review, vol. 3, no. 26. London, May 1976. Wrappers. Memo...

The auction of a rare, signed Sylvia Plath/Ted Hughes book Light Blue, Dark Blue: An anthology of Cambridge and Oxford writing is over. Someone bid $14,000 to "buy it now". The winner of the auction, with a zero for feedback, was "buyers-beware-fake-signatures-for-sale". The seller had a large number of supposedly rare, supposedly signed first editions of inherited books. Perhaps this is a previous winner who was disappointed with the item? Having worked with Plath's papers, their is some inconsistency in the Sylvia and the Plath. The pen stoke is much thicker and smaller for Plath's last name. As well, the Hughes in Ted's signature doesn't much look like Ted's signature to me. In the provenance information, there was no mention of how Peter Levi obtained Plath's signature. I have never heard of Levi and Plath meeting in my Plath studies...We'll see...

A very rare book is for sale via eBay. The book, Light Blue, Dark Blue - An anthology of Cambridge and Oxford writing (1960), is signed by both Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, though clearly the book was signed at different times. The seller should have placed Plath's and Hughes's full names in the title, increasing its visibility. As with anything purchased on eBay, the authenticity of the item is extremely crucial. Image of item taken from the auction.